McKinney staff outline homelessness data, services and volunteer needs ahead of January PIT count

Margaret Lee, the city’s housing and community development director, told the McKinney City Council the 2025 Point-in-Time (PIT) count identified 213 people experiencing homelessness in the city — a decline of 26 from 2024 — but cautioned that the PIT’s narrow definition can undercount people who are doubled up or in institutions.

Lee said the PIT count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and will be overnight this year, running from about 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., and staff needs substantially more volunteers to complete the count on Jan. 22, 2026. “We are going to need a significant amount more of volunteers this year because the PIT count will be overnight,” she said.

City staff described a range of programs supporting people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, including tenant-based rental assistance, the LIFT program that helps with security deposits, emergency homeless-prevention assistance through a local fund, and subsidized transit for qualified individuals. Lee provided recent service counts: 8 households received LIFT security-deposit assistance, 13 households received emergency prevention assistance through the local fund, 26 people were helped through the tenant-based rental assistance program, Samaritan Inn served 553 people and diverted 76 households, and the city’s police and fire departments reported roughly 1,000 calls and 290 EMS transports related to homelessness during the last year.

Lee said service providers report a different on-the-ground picture than the PIT numbers suggest, noting national trends: “The National Alliance to End Homelessness 2025 state of homelessness indicated that homelessness is at a U.S. record high.” She also cited local challenges such as the temporary closure of Hall Library for renovations, which increased visibility of people experiencing homelessness downtown, and federal funding delays that have led to service reductions and closures.

Lee described the Better Together initiative — a collaborative effort to complete a comprehensive needs assessment, gap analysis and a community-driven strategic plan — and said staff will convene committees on strategic planning, street outreach and public education. She noted volunteer registration opens in December and that the McKinney Homeless Coalition meets monthly (next meeting noted: Dec. 11).

Lee corrected a slide during the presentation about First McKinney shelter operations, saying First McKinney is currently permitted for up to 75 guests at a 39°F threshold under a variance that expires at the end of the month and that the shelter will request a variance in December to operate at higher capacity. She warned, however, that other host sites and the Salvation Army have capacity and staffing limits that constrain immediate expansion.

Council members pressed staff on the capacity limits of local shelters and whether those limits are set by the organizations or by city ordinance. Lee said the Salvation Army’s usual limit of 50 is tied to its own permitting and that staffing capacity is a key constraint on accepting additional guests. "It allows up to 50. If they want to deviate from that, they can also apply for a variance," she said.

Lee closed by noting program success stories — including residents who moved from shelter services into employment and housing — and directed residents and stakeholders to a resource list on the city’s community services webpage and the McKinney Homeless Coalition’s street-outreach hotline for help and volunteer information.

Next steps: staff will recruit volunteers for the Jan. 22 PIT count, pursue the Better Together strategic process with a facilitator in March, and bring any variance requests for shelter capacity back to the council as needed.